This is the post where I toss aside thoughtfully articulated prose for a moment of rambling. Just pretend we’re lounging in my living room hanging out over coffee. For the Johnson family (that’s us!), the week between Christmas and the new year is always a little strange. It’s sort of like getting caught in a time warp, where the universe stands still and all is well with the world. Well, at least, all is well at our house.

The week ended today on a sweet note. The day began with a late rise from bed beside my beautiful husband, coffee and treats for breakfast with a friend visiting from Texas, shopping for pretty dresses in my home with this pretty lady (and meeting her cute kids!), browsing through the new Frankie magazine and looking for this picture of our home, exercising, and indulging in Netflix. Whewie! How’s that for a late morning and afternoon?

Yesterday I was feeling a bit under the weather, but I was still able to meet up with Anna, who is visiting Canton from Germany. I made a new friend at the coffee shop and lazied the rest of the day away. It’s been a swell week. And guess what? Next week is my birthday! Aren’t you excited for the new year? There’s just something about a fresh start.

Working with a tiny budget, Phil and I are once again, though more seriously this time, looking for an actual house! I never really expected to “fall in love” with a home within our budget, because of obvious reasons, but we found two options that look like they might be suiters!

OPTION 1: 1950s N WITH ORIGINAL FEATURES & UNTOUCHED WOODWORK
I’m just going to admit to you right now. I’m totally in love with this home! There are very few changes I would like to make (which is saying quite a lot!), and the price just can’t be beat. All of our furniture fits inside, and if we moved in, we would be paying significantly less for our payments, insurances, and taxes than we are paying now for rent.

PROS:
? Below our price range!
? Really convenient floor plan
? Everything is on one level! As in, there’s not even a basement.
? The craftsmanship of everything in this home is impeccable.
? Cool brick wall in kitchen ad living room.
? Two fireplaces
? There’s not much work we’d want to do, and it’s already move-in ready.
? Three bedrooms
? 1.5 baths
? Large living room
? Huge (to me) kitchen and dining area (super important to us!)
? Big back yard
? Private back yard
? Large two car garage with workshop
? Two storage sheds in the back yard
? Beautiful side yard patio with an arbor
? Large laundry room on first floor
? Room to add on

CONS:
? Only one level (Something about not having a basement = not kid friendly to me.)
? Not a lot of built-in storage, though there is a lot of room for storage furniture
? On a road with a bunch of apartments
? A crossroad ends right where the front yard begins
? Railroad Tracks behind back yard
? Highway behind back yard (highway has walls to deaden sound, and it’s not super close)
? Small bedrooms
? There’s not enough room for all of my clothes! (Simplify…?)

OPTION 2: 1950s RANCH WITH WALKOUT BASEMENT & UNIQUE FEATURES
Contrary to what you might think after seeing my cons list below, I really do like this house. It would need quite a lot of work to get it to be where I want it, and even with all that work the backyard is still tiny. I love the fact that there is a large basement- great for the future kiddos and the current husband (gamedays!). But, we’re really not super digging this house, but we’re still considerig it as an option.

PROS:
? Sunken living room (I love those!)
? Cool brick fireplace (though I hate the extended brick on the side.)
? Nice high ceilings
? Three bedrooms
? 2 baths
? Large, finished basement
? Large laundry room in basement
? Cool brick wall in galley kitchen
? Two fireplaces (one in the basement!)

CONS:
? Tiny dining room (wouldn’t fit my heirloom farmhouse table!)
? Carpet everywhere (would need to be removed, stat!)
? Horrible lighting fixtures
? Shoddy craftsmanship everywhere
? Horrible kitchen cabinets
? Disgusting floor in the kitchen
? Tiny hallways
? Small bedrooms
? Smallish kitchen
? Old appliances
? TINY backyard
? Unpaved long, winding driveway (a nightmare in NE Ohio!)
? No room to add on
? Basement leaking problems that have supposedly been fixed
? CARPET IN THE BATHROOM!
? Paneling everywhere
? A weird mudroom right through the front door, which is a sliding glass door. Weird.
? Odd entrance to the front door. Must walk around the house from the back to get there.
? No curb appeal
? Windows will need replaced soon.

So, there ya have it, kiddos! I can’t stop thinking about our future house, and I’ve already been picking out wallpaper and paint colors! Am I crazy? No, I swear, it’s just that I’ve never been able to wallpaper a place before in my life, so my imagination is running wild. Last time we viewed a house, there was so much work that needed done, and the floorplan was sprawling and segregating. We now have a more realistic view of how we want a floorplan to contribute to our homelife, as well as how much work we are willing and able to put into fixing up a place. So, what do you think? Should we go with our gut and put in an offer on house one before it’s gone?

I reckon every home that has a man probably needs a manly chair. Ours has been without one ever since we split up with my brother. (We lived with him for two years.) Of course, this hasn’t gone unnoticed by well-meaning folks on crusades to stand up for my husband’s manliness over his lair. I’ve bore the frustration of passive aggressive comments from people who don’t realize that Phil really loves how I decorate our home. I do consult him before making small changes, and the only time he’s weighed in with a disagreeing comment is when I wanted to paint our hallway pink.

So, when I stumbled on this chair at a local antique mall, I knew that it had to be Phil’s. This guy who doesn’t mind doilies and needlepoint flowers finally has a man-chair all of his own. And as of yet, we haven’t fought over who gets dibs. :)